LETTERS FROM THE DESK – MICHAEL HYLTON

Open Letters – From the desk of Michael Hylton

Consultant at Instinctif Partners, and NextGen Committee Member

15 September 2021

Dear 21-year-old Mike,

Firstly, congratulations on how far you’ve come in the last few years, who would have thought it would lead us to the Middle East when you were a fresh-faced university graduate, hey? If by some miracle humanity manages to crack time-travel à la Interstellar (exceptional film, it’s just come out so you should go watch it), it would be fun to meet up for a coffee and compare notes, not that you took many while you were studying, anyway.

On a somewhat different note, I want to impart some wisdom to you while you’re still testing the waters and figuring life out. The first piece of advice I want to offer is this; allow yourself to be frustrated, but don’t let it define you. Opportunities are everywhere around us, and although there is a certain amount of luck involved, it’s what you do with these opportunities that count. You’re going to apply for a million graduate schemes, entry-level jobs, and everything in between, and it’s not going to go your way. It feels like a huge kick in the teeth, but you’ll eventually find that you’ve tapped into a latent reservoir of motivation and ambition that won’t dissipate any time soon. An opportunity to work in Dubai will come your way one day, and after some deliberation, you’ll take the leap and never look back. Every time you come head-to-head with new challenges, you’ll remember your past circumstances and always find a way to move forward.

For my second piece of advice: don’t go too overboard. While you’re an ambitious fella, you tend to push yourself as far as you can in as short a timeframe as possible. Yes, you now operate in an extraordinarily fast-paced industry but make sure you take time to sit and celebrate the small victories. Nothing bad ever came from slowing down and smelling the roses occasionally, and you’ll regret not patting yourself on the back more often. Learn to be kinder to yourself, physically and mentally. You’ll eventually learn that no one ever looks at someone pulling a 16-hour shift and thinks “wow, they’re amazing and so motivated!”, its more along the lines of “wow, the bags under their eyes look like they’re weighed down with wet cement.”

Finally, invest in your relationships. The biggest epiphany you’ll have in your twenties is that you can’t do everything on your own. Learning to rely on the people around you, both personally and professionally, will help stimulate concepts and conclusions you may never have reached, even with an infinite amount of time at your disposal. The people you surround yourself with, from colleagues and clients to the cohort of friends you’ve made along the way, will become invaluable confidants as you navigate your way through your career.

Ultimately, what I’m trying to tell you is to believe in the ‘me’ that believes in ‘you’, you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.

Keep up the good work, and I probably don’t say it enough, but I’m proud of you.

Mike